Sometimes, it’s the little things that make the difference. The Mazda3 Sport undergoes several changes for 2017, including some front and rear styling tweaks, a redesigned infotainment screen and new features. But one addition, G-Vectoring Control (GVC), turns this sharp little car up a notch, even if you don’t quite feel how it does it.

It’s an electronic program that matches engine power to steering input to improve handling, and it’s so quick and subtle that it’s virtually unnoticeable. I only knew the difference because I’d previously driven GVC-equipped cars back-to-back with non-GVC ones. It’s like that mysterious spice you can’t identify in a dish, but which makes it that much better.

The “Sport” in the name refers to the car’s hatchback configuration, which gives it an attractive long-nose-and-short-butt profile, in addition to the cargo practicality. It comes in three trim levels, starting at $19,550 for the GS and $21,300 for the GX, both with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 155 horsepower. My tester, the top-of-the-line GT, starts at $25,000 and uses a 2.5-litre four-cylinder that churns out 184 horsepower. A six-speed manual transmission is the default in all three, but my car carried the six-speed automatic that’s a no-charge option.

The Mazda3 has always been the sharpest-handling car in the mainstream compact segment, and it’s a pleasure to drive at any speed. It responds immediately to steering input and stays firmly planted on hard curves, while the ride is smooth even on rougher pavement.

When the driver moves the steering wheel in a curve, the GVC system reduces engine torque for a split second. You don’t feel it, but it’s just enough to shift some weight to the front wheels and increase the tires’ grip. This also tends to smooth out the car’s movement. It’s not all that noticeable from the driver’s seat, but it is for passengers, especially those in the rear chairs.

Where some automakers might stick the trim name on the hatch, Mazda puts on a SkyActiv badge. It sounds like something you’d expect on a hybrid, but Mazda isn’t going gas-electric, at least not yet. Instead, it refers to optimization of the engine and powertrain for fuel efficiency. Published fuel numbers are 7.9 L/100 km in combined city and highway driving, while I squeaked just under it at 7.8.

The car is roomy within the confines of its compact footprint, and the rear seats fold 60/40 to carry longer cargo. The cabin is heavy on hard plastic, but the design overall is simple and handsome. The infotainment screen sits tablet-style atop the dash, a styling cue that has its fans and foes. While not as elegant as one nestled inside the panel, it keeps your eyes up and toward the windshield when you’re looking at it. It also lets designers set the dash lower, which improves forward visibility and makes the cabin look roomier. The screen operates by touch and also via a joystick and button controller on the centre console.

But while I’m fine with the touch-tablet, I’m less than enamoured with Mazda’s version of a head-up display. These usually project one’s speed and other information near eye level on the windshield, where you can glance ahead at it rather than down at the dash.

2017 Mazda3 Sport GTJil McIntosh /
Driving

Instead, Mazda’s version is a little plastic screen atop the dash. You don’t have to look all the way down to the instrument cluster, where the speedometer is a digital readout tucked into the large central tachometer, but it’s not the straight-ahead convenience of a projected display. It would also be nice to have a toggle switch to adjust the display height, rather than having to go into a computer screen, especially when two drivers switch back and forth. I realize I’m not going to get the real thing in a car that costs $25,000, but the little plastic screen looks cheap on something that otherwise feels better than its price.

And it is a reasonable sticker, considering what’s included in the GT’s cost: blind-spot monitoring, rearview camera, sunroof, auto-levelling LED headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, automatic climate control and a heated steering wheel.

Compacts make up the largest passenger car segment in Canada. For a while, automakers seemed content to cruise along in it, until impressive redesigns like Honda’s Civic put everyone on notice. How much of a bite this refreshed Mazda will take out of the market remains to be seen, but shoppers need to put it on the test-drive list.